Rebirth
by pokegem
Summary: With Touya out exploring and N gone once again, Touko leaves in hopes of finding Touya and traveling with him, only to discover more than she asked for.
1. leave

_rebirth_

 _chapter one - leave_

 _two years ago_

 _"Touko..." N sighed, tangling his hands in her hair. Her sleeping face was pure, untouched, and free from any worries that plagued her during her waking hours. He frowned; surely, he would add to the growing list of the things Touko worried about. He pondered over his decision until the telltale signs of morning shone on the floor. Moving away from the sleeping girl, he wondered if he would be able to revive this memory again._

 _He gritted his teeth. He had to believe he'd be able to make it out alive, even if it was just for the sake of seeing Touko again. Grabbing the knob on the door, he didn't look back as he walked away, fearing that if he did, he'd never be able to do it._

nimbasa city, present day – touko

Touko dragged her feet along the pavement, hands in her hoodie's pocket and looking way too bored for her own good. She third-wheeled behind Cheren and Bianca, dismissing any of the latter's comments that consisted of "including her" in their little hang-out-turned-date at the amusement park.

She was contemplating about bringing her Samurott out of its PokeBall when her female friend held her hand, grinning at Touko and eyes shining like diamonds.

"Touko!" Bianca almost pleaded in her high-pitched voice. "Please, please ride the Ferris Wheel with us! I promise it'll be fun, and it's almost dark anyway. We'll hopefully get a glimpse of the sunset up there, and even enjoy the sparkling lights! What do you say?"

"I don't want to be a cock-block," Touko said, her chest tightening when she was reminded of the Ferris Wheel. The sun's rays were turning red, the same colour that radiated off it when N first took her here to admit he was the King of Team Plasma a few years back then. She felt a pang of pain when she couldn't remember the scene as well as she could before, and shook out of her trance and gave Bianca a fake smile. "I'll be riding in another gondola."

She entered the gondola alone, and patiently waited until it was being lifted up. It was cold since the AC was blasting cold air that was supposed to be for at least two, leaving Touko shivering as she watched out of the window. Bianca wasn't lying, because the sun looked amazing and a few buildings have already turned on their lights. She looked down on the park, scanning for nothing when her eyes caught a sight of green hair in a ponytail, albeit the ponytail being longer than the one she remembered. The top was covered by a cap, but she would know the shade of his hair anywhere.

The ponytail was still messed up, like how he used to leave his. Touko cursed, wishing she had brought a flying-type to land on the ground below her. Her Zekrom would help her get down, but there was a chance that this N look-alike would run away at the sight of a legendary, or even battle it.

Zekrom, sensing Touko's anxious thoughts and another presence in the park, woke up. It cracked open an eye to look at the girl, observing her as she peered out of the window the best she could to keep an eye on the person she was fretting over.

 _"...Zekrom...here..."_ it heard Reshiram's voice, even though it was muffled. The black dragon shook itself, making itself aware and actively trying to keep the white dragon out of its thoughts and aura. " _...hard...N...leave._ "

Zekrom wanted to take a chance and warn the white dragon to never trace them again, but knew it would give away Touko's and its positions. It let out a soft cry in its PokeBall. _**"Touko! Reshiram is here, yet I cannot hear much. It must be in its PokeBall, with N. We shall leave at once when the ride ends. Do not make yourself known."**_

Touko frowned. "What? What do you mean N and Reshiram are here?" her heart started beating faster. "Zekrom, what is it that you sense?"

 _ **"Reshiram...trying to get into my thoughts. To track you down, maybe. I do not know what they want to do with you,"**_ Zekrom said, shaking its head in its PokeBall.

Touko's mind clouded with excitement, fear, anger, and many other feelings. She was so excited to see him come back again, especially when he left her without a word two years ago. It was the exact same reason why she didn't want to see his face again, hoping she'd move on and get over him for good. Reminding herself to think with her head and not with her heart, she chose to get off the gondola as fast as she can. The people brought up their usual murmur around the Champion, and she could see a familiar face turning to look at her.

Turning away before she could see him and calling her Zebstrika, she commanded the Pokemon to return to Lostlorn Forest, where she could hide and call her Swanna to fly back to Nuvema Town, hopefully losing the green-haired man along the way.

nuvema town, one week after sighting – touko

"Have you gone mad?" Cheren asked Touko, resisting the urge to chuck something at her head. "You've had a good head on your shoulder, but ever since he left, you've started to go nuts. I know you've had plans to leave Unova to find Touya, but you decided to act on it?"

Touko winced at his harsh tone. She knew he meant it for the best, but sometimes she thought he could use a gentler way to scold her. She was packing her things into a small duffel bag and preparing herself to go find Touya as a way to get _N_ – curse him and his green hair, damn it – out of her head, when Cheren burst into her room and caught her in the middle of things.

"I'm sorry, okay? But I need to do something to get him off my mind. I'll settle on finding Touya. You can contact me anyway, if you needed to," Touko offered. "It's not that dangerous, and I'll come back every six months or so. Cheren, please."

He stared at her warily. He came here to ask what was wrong yesterday, not catch her in the middle of packing to leave. "...Fine. I will await your return in six months. Call me, okay?" he said, muttering a few curses to himself. "I'll go ahead and tell Bianca," he said, frowning when Touko's mouth opened, as if to say something. "What? You don't want Bianca to know, too?"

Touko blushed. "Yeah, I know she wouldn't let me go..." she said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I have to leave in about an hour and a half, Cheren. Please, wish me luck and don't tell Bianca anything until I call you, unless she breaks down my door."

Cheren continued to frown at her, as if frowning would do any help to ease Touko into changing her mind. Finally, he sighed and helped her with her bags to the Castelia Pier, hoping that the girl would still change her mind.

She covered herself with a cap and a mask, wearing sunglasses to mask her features. People were looking at her with looks, and she could admit she did look strange. The man beside her grunted, giving her a tight hug. "Call me or Bianca when you need help," Cheren murmured. Touko nodded, almost melting into a hug.

"Yes. And...Cheren, when you get the call from me," Touko paused, handing him her Lilligant's PokeBall. Cheren stared at it, recognizing it as her Lilligant's Ball. "Please give this to mom. Someone would need to take care of her, and it would probably be better if I also left a Pokemon with her."

Cheren nodded. "Alright, I will," he paused, as if debating with himself if he should say something else. Touko's brows knitted in confusion, and Cheren waved his hand around as if to dismiss it. "Have fun in Alola, but stay safe."

tracking, a month after departure – n

"Reshiram, are you picking up traces of Zekrom?" N asked, petting the dragon's soft fur while the wild Pokemon approached him. He picked up a wild Minccino, letting it sniff his hand before petting it. The white dragon merely whined, obviously frustrated.

 _"I cannot sense Zekrom. Where has the girl gone running off to? Is she to find you?"_ Reshiram questioned, looking down at N with a curious expression. The Minccino jumped off from N's arms, clearly scared off by the legendary. N watched it scamper away before he turned his attention to Reshiram.

"I saw her at the park yesterday," N said. Reshiram nodded in agreement. "You said you could sense Zekrom's presence, yes? But it was quite hard to exactly pinpoint where if Touko was high up, and Zekrom was in a PokeBall."

 _"High up and not in a PokeBall? Did you mean that she was in that circular contraption?"_ Reshiram asked. N stiffened, knowing full well that his dear friend was referring to the Ferris Wheel. He closed his eyes, his heartbeat speeding up. The legendary seemed to sense that he was getting anxious. _"Is there something wrong, N? Do you think she was in there?"_

He nodded, his memories quickly flitting to that moment where she reluctantly agreed to go on a ride with him, just for him to admit that he was the King of Team Plasma. He could still remember her face of betrayal and shock, and her desire to get out of the gondola quick. He still had small clips of their battle on his mind, the battle that would buy time for the grunts to escape.

He had to stop himself before he once again spiralled into temporary madness, which seemed to happen from time to time during the two years he was on a run. A run from his personal demons that Touko managed to keep away, a run from the people still wanting him dead, and a run from Colress, who he managed to bump into. The scientist simply greeted him and told him that he no longer did not want to do anything with Ghetsis, and he would move to somewhere else.

And that was why N wished to go back to Touko, but he knew he wouldn't be taken lightly in Nuvema where her friends and family also resided. Getting a glimpse of her in Nimbasa was purely by chance, even if he was angrily denied even a glance at him. It happened a month ago, and he was yet to see her again.

 _"Master N,_ " Reshiram cooed, nudging N lightly with its wing. " _Do you not want to meet her head-on, in Nuvema Town? Tell them that you have been hiding from the Colress, who has now changed, and that you would like to return again._ "

N stood still, wondering and imagining how his precious Touko would react. Judging from the event a month ago, he guessed she would be pissed at him, and even get scolded or ignored. He also guessed that her friends and mom would be disappointed, as well. He felt guilty when he left the spare room that Touko cleaned up to be his room while staying with them. He thought all of these over, before agreeing with Reshiram. "You're right, my friend. My return is quite overdue, even if it is unwelcomed."

nuvema town – n

The green-haired man was right.

When he landed on the vacant plot of land that was for Touko's Zekrom to land on, he was met by a very, _very_ angry Cheren and a disappointed Bianca. Apparently, they had heard Reshiram's cries from below and decided to meet with N, who expected a speech about betrayal and leaving in the middle of the night. Instead, he was met with the words he never wanted to hear.

"Touko is gone."

Cheren said, his steely gaze on N's form, but the older man didn't care if he was being judged. He was so vague about the statement, that Cheren couldn't help but wonder if the older man thought Touko was dead. Bianca shared her thoughts with him, and gave him a good shove. "Cheren!" she hissed at him. She may have been disappointed in N, but she didn't want N to think Touko was dead. She turned to him. "N! We weren't saying that Touko is dead."

N couldn't help the relieved sigh. He didn't want to think that Touko would die when he just saw her at the park a month ago. "How is she holding up, then?" he asked. He looked around, and surely there was no Touko. He guessed that it was because she didn't want to face him right now, and even if he was hurt, he knew he deserved it. "Is she home?"

He saw the two friends' eyes darken. Cheren was the one who spoke up first. "Touko left for Touya. She wouldn't tell where, but she's supposed to return after five months before returning to travelling again after two or three weeks," he said, his hand instinctively reaching up the bridge of his nose to adjust his glasses, only to feel bare skin. He winced before continuing. "She thought she'd need to get over you."

N barely held back a small whimper, wearing the pain he was feeling on his sleeve. He was gone for two years, and she went away a month after she saw him. He swallowed thickly, steeling himself before facing the two friends ago. "I-I see..." he muttered, turning to Reshiram when Bianca called him out.

"N! You might want to stay here," Bianca said. N visibly shuddered, knowing that he didn't deserve to stay at Mrs. White's house any longer. She took measured steps towards him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were gone for two years, N. Her mom would give you maybe a decade's worth of warnings, but she knows Touko loves you."

Loves.

She still loved him, even when he left her alone in that room? He could feel his heart shatter a little bit more, knowing that he had hurt her enough to drive her away from Unova. He wanted to follow her and tell her how much he loved her and that he wanted to apologize so badly for leaving her without even a note. Even if going to her house would be bad, he knew that maybe the mother knew where Touko went.

N hesitated, but called Reshiram back to its PokeBall. "Very well. I will go to the house with you two," he said, a slight tremble in his voice. Going back to the house he tried to avoid for the past two years would be downright terrifying, and it didn't help that the person he wanted to see the most wouldn't be there.

 _x_

"How – how dare you!" Mrs. White said, clutching onto poor Bianca's hands. The Lilligant was trying to soothe the agitated mother, but Touko's Pokemon seemed to make it worse by being Touko's Pokemon. N braved through all insults thrown at him, even if he was shaken, but he doubted if he could brave throught this onslaught of names and insults. "You _dare_ visit this house after two years, and while my dear Touko is away?! She was heartbroken when you left her, and now you go showing your face around here?"

The woman quieted down when Bianca whispered something to her, no doubt a brief summary of his story, patting her shoulders calmly. Mrs. White narrowed her eyes at N for a moment before giving an exasperated sigh, rubbing her temples. "Alright, you can stay here for the night. Do _not_ , by any under circumstances, go to Touko's room. I will tell you her contact information, but it is up to you to know where she is right now," she eyed him warily. "If she comes to me crying again and it's because of you, I will never let you near my daughter again."

The mother stood up and retired to her room for the night, grumbling about something under her breath. N stood up to thank Bianca, but she lifted a hand up gently. "It's alright. I knew you would need outside help, anyway. Touko's mom has been on the edge when you left because Touko suddenly withdrew herself from the society. For months, she'd never go out or eat that much. She had challengers, so we wouldn't need to worry about her skills. I must get going, though. Good night, N." Bianca said, leaving the quiet house.

It was silent until a voice spoke up, the Lilligant walking over to him and sitting on the couch parallel to his. " _N...I cannot express how disappointed I am in you now,_ " it said, shaking its head. " _I know that you are beating yourself up for this, but I am still sad about what happened to our Mistress Touko. She became completely silent for the first few weeks, yet never neglected us. We – her Pokemon – are angry at you. We have sensed that her aura has completely changed, and even now, the bright light she had was dimmed._

 _"She kept on thinking that it was her who was at fault. She kept on blaming herself, and for months on end we tried to cheer her up. Sadly, she was not blessed with the talent of understanding us, but even then, she talked to us. Now, she is on a mission to go find Touya, who has been gone without contact for four years now,"_ the Lilligant paused, as if thinking about something. " _She has taken all her Pokemon except for myself, as I am to take care of her mother. I do not know of her whereabouts, so you might have to ask her yourself._ "

N hung his head in defeat. Getting the story, even if it was not whole, from her own Pokemon was heartbreaking. He felt guiltier than before, and he wished that he could turn back time and never leave her side again if he knew that Colress was alright now that he didn't work for that damned Ghetsis. He barely made a move when her Lilligant urged him to get up and go to sleep. "I'm alright, Lilligant. I will retire as soon as I feel tired."

And he was nothing but tired, especially after all the information that he had taken in for today.

* * *

 **Author: Hello! It's been a long while since I posted here, but it's also been a long time since I finished a story. I'm not a seasoned writer (yet, I hope!) but I'm willing to improve! I don't know how to do stuff around here, but hey, you can always tell me how!**

 **A few notes: the next chapter starts in "present day". When is that? I, too, do not know. But all chapters start in "present day", which is different from last chapter's "present day" I'm still figuring out the timeline in this story, which I'm totally screwed in, but it's usually based on events.**

 **Sorry for this short chapter! I'm looking forward to writing longer chapters that I hope do not move too quickly. As much as I hate writing fillers, they seem cute, too.**

 **Please review if you want to!**


	2. challenge

_rebirth_

 _chapter two – challenge_

 _._

 _._

 _three years ago_

 _"Miss Touko! It's a pleasure to meet you as a challenger," Rosa greeted the awestruck trainer. "I see you have regained your badges, which makes you eligible to battle me. Are you ready?"_

 _Touko's knees felt wobbly, even if she believed in her Pokemon. She left her Zekrom in the bag and not on her battle belt to make things equal between her and the new Champion. It was herself that she didn't believe in, despite all the hours she spent training and strategizing with her Pokemon._

 _"Ready as I'll ever be!" she said, placing a hand on a PokeBall. Rosa nodded, doing the same._

 _"Alright. Let's start our battle, Miss Touko!"_

present day, hau'oli outskirts – touko

"Miss Touko! It's nice to meet you," the fifteen-year old Champion of Alola said, fidgeting slightly on her spot. "It's great when all these Champions come to Alola. Our island challenge is something you shouldn't miss, after all! And you, eighteen years of age, are still available to challenge the trials and the totems!"

Hau smiled. "Great! It's a good speech for when you meet Miss White," he said, clapping enthustiastically. The two were busy celebrating when they didn't notice a pair, an older man and a pony-tailed girl, approaching them.

"Okay, thank you so much, mister!" Touko said, bowing before doing a slightly awkward "Alola" hand gesture. She turned to the younger duo before her, who gaped at her mere presence. Confused, she introduced herself. "Hello! I'm Touko White. I was hoping I could meet the Champion here, and I was led to this place. The man said it was her house."

Moon jumped around, still nervous. "M-miss Touko! It's meet to nice you," she said, jumbling up her words. Her face turned to a dark shade of red before covering it with her hands. "I-I'm sorry! I can't do the speech," she said. "I'm Moon, the Champion of Alola. What do you need?"

Touko giggled, amused by Moon's reaction. "I was going to check the region for a guy named Touya. Have you, by any chance, battled him? I know his trademark look is a cap, a blue zip-up hoodie, jeans, and red shoes," she explained. "He always wanted to battle the League of all regions, and I was thinking if he dropped by here recently."

"Is it that guy who goes to the Chamber every 25th of the month?" Moon frowned. "He looks like that or something, and always said, 'I want to become stronger to battle the Leagues!' even though I beat him every time he comes up?" she asked, shaking her head. "I have to train even more because of that guy! He gets stronger every time, so I have to be two steps ahead of him."

Touko's jaw dropped. This was Moon, the truthfully unbeatable Champion of Alola. She even heard that the young girl saved the region from an Ultra Beast, which were creatures that weren't of this world. If Touya can't beat Moon, then how worse would Touko be?

"That sounds like Touya, alright," Touko admitted, quite sure that the quite yet blunt guy would say words like those. "Do you know where he trains frequently? I wanted to see him for...reasons."

"Nah, he seems to camp wherever he feels like it. I bump into him in Poni Plains, Tapu Village, Mount Hokulani, and hell, he might even be on this island right now," the younger female said. "What I'm saying is, he travels around a lot, and that might be hard on your part."

Touko processed her words, thinking about how she should get around Alola. "Do you have any recommendations? I've heard that the HMs, er, Hidden Machines, aren't really used around here. How do people fly around Alola, then?"

"Simple," Moon started, taking out a green remote-like object. "This is the Ride Pager. This will let you ride around the region with a registered Pokemon's help! People who would register the Ride Pokemon are either kahunas, captains, or even just the trial guide for certain routes. Of course, if you don't want to use one, you can use a Pokemon that knows Fly."

The older woman thought it over. ' _Well, the island challenge seems like a good idea to expose myself to Alola, and it forces me to explore the region, too. I can go around to look for Touya better, since some routes are apparently closed off to trainers that have not yet finished the respective trial yet.'_

"'Alright! I'll do the island challenge," Touko said, feeling excited and nervous. "Where's the first trial?"

Hau held a hand up even though he kept silent during the whole conversation. "Miss White, I'm Hau," he smiled at her. "Your Pokemon are hella strong, maybe even too strong for the trials which will, in turn, not let the challenge be a challenge at all. You should go catch new Pokemon for your new team, but you can keep your first partner!"

present day, nuvema town – n

"Unbelievable," N muttered, staring at his phone's screen as Touko once again ignored a call. Shaking his head, he willed himself to think of optimistic things. "Touko is just busy, wherever she is. She's safe, she's safe, she's safe..."

The words kept on repeating in his mind like a mantra, reminding him every day of Touko's current state. He hadn't tried the internet yet, though, but he'll be sure to do it after he takes his brunch. As he made his way to the kitchen, he saw Bianca's hair and Mrs. White's own ones, the people obivously busy.

Bianca was the first one to notice him, and waved him off with a spatula covered in batter. "Hey, now! Don't worry about this, it's your brunch! I know last night hit you hard, so you can relax a little bit today." she said before turning to the food she was making.

N did as he told, sitting obediently on the couch, waiting for the usual "food is ready!" that he missed for two years, remembering the memories he had in the house. Dazed, he didn't notice the hand that was gently placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Bianca's eyes staring back at him.

"Heya, N! We're good to go, the food is ready!"

 _x_

"N," Mrs. White started, N's head shooting up to look at her. "Do you know where Touko is, already?"

N shook his head, feeling embarrassed that he still didn't know even if he had Lilligant rant to him last night. "Not yet. I was thinking of calling her, but even then she wouldn't want to talk." he admitted, fighting the urge to keep his head down. Mrs. White frowned.

"Well, that's right," she said, nodding her head in agreement. N saw her eyes dart to Bianca's form before closing them. "Say, what would you do if I told you about her whereabouts now?"

His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the woman to help him find Touko. "I—I would go look for her, Mrs. White," he said, a smile threatening to break out on his face. "And then I'd tell her how sorry I am and—"

The woman held up a hand, and N stopped talking immediately. He saw a smile forming on her face that was quickly wiped out when she opened her eyes again. "That's all I need to know. Thank you. I knew it, that somewhere inside you, you really love my dear Touko. Bianca made sure to tell me that this morning."

N stayed silent, thinking over her words.

 _Love_.

Touko was amazing, beautiful, compassionate, strong-willed, and everything he didn't even know if he deserved it or not. She was a heroine in her own right, yet he was just a puppet to an evil organization. But even so, Touko helped him on the way to recovery, even if it wasn't a full recovery. She helped him even if no one wanted to, and for that, he was extrremely grateful and admired Touko as a whole, flaws and all.

Yes, he loved Touko.

 _x_

"Whoopee!" Bianca cheered, surprising both Cheren and N who were preparing items for N's own trip to Alola. She pranced around, throwing flower— _flowers?! –_ around the place. "We got N to confess his love for Touko White! Now all that's left is to have Touko admit her feelings as well!"

Cheren ignored Bianca's squeals, turning to N with a deadpanned expression. "Just ignore her, okay?" he said, exasperated. "She's still an airhead after all this time. You'd think she'd mature when she's eighteen, but she still gets loud over things like these."

N hummed. "But you do love Bianca, yes? Even if she's all these things, you still love her," he said, teasing Cheren lightly. The Aspertia Gym Leader huffed, the red hue creeping up to his face.

"H-hey! You're the one we're focusing on right now," Cheren said. "I would talk to Bianca when it's the right time, but for now, Touko is more important. It doesn't mean I approve of your relationship, even after four years, though," Cheren eyed N warily. "You left her first, but if she loves you, then I'll be fine with it. It's what she's happy with, anyway."

The two worked in silence after that, the bubbly girl now tired with her prancing and dancing around. After all of the necessities were packed, N thanked Cheren and even Bianca for helping him get closer to Touko even after he left her.

Cheren opened his mouth to make a correction to that, but Bianca elbowed him. "Shush, Cheren!" she said, giving him an angry look. She turned to N, smiling at him apologetically. "It's no problem, N. You realized that Touko got hurt when you left, and now you're willing to make up for it. She stopped you from leaving three years ago, and now it's your time to find her again."

"Well, that was worded much nicer than what I was about to say," Cheren muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to agree with what Bianca said, but if you ever hurt Touko again, I'll..." he trailed off, his arm being squeezed by Bianca way too tightly. "Good luck finding her. She never contacted me after she arrived there."

"Yeah!" Bianca pouted. "She doesn't talk to me anymore, and I'm getting worried," she said, sighing. "Give her a hello from me, okay?"

heahea city, a week after melemele grand trial – touko

"Your Pokemon are growing nicely, Miss White!" Lillie, a friend of Moon, praised. Touko's Pichu and Wingull were improving, alright. Her orignal Pokemon weren't on her battle belt, yet they were hidden in her bag. "They were eager to battle Hau's Pokemon."

"Yeah!" Hau exclaimed, cheering for Touko. "Your Peeko was amazing! My Pokemon didn't stand a chance against it," he said. "Moon said she'll be here in a few minutes, just wrapping up some things with a challenger."

Touko's hopes rose. "Touya?" she asked, getting nervous but disappointed when Hau shook his head.

"Lusamine, apparently. Moon said they talked about an important thing, and she didn't want to budge about it," he shrugged. "Hey, let's get some malasadas! Miss White, you tried those in Hau'oli city, right?"

The older girl nodded. She was about to say something when her Xtransceiver rang on her wrist. She answered the call while her friends looked on in awe. "Hello, Bianca! How are you?"

" _Hi, Touko! I'm fine, thanks! How's your search for Touya holding up? Still hanging on?"_ Bianca said, grinning at Touko. _"Are you alone right now?_ "

Touko shook her head. "No, I'm with my friends right now. I'm going to get malasadas," she said, carefully choosing her words. She didn't want to reveal any of her locations, getting the feel that a certain guy would be following her. Her friend's expression didn't change, though.

" _Oh, cool! Bring home malasadas for me, too, okay? It's been two months, and I can't wait for another four!"_ Bianca cried out, earning a giggle from Touko. " _Hope you find Touya soon! Tell me when you're alone, I'm going to fill you in on a juicy secret. Bye-bye!"_

Bianca winked at her before her Xtransceiver shut off. Hau was the first one to speak up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Wow! It's an Xtransceiver. I've only seen that in the books in Professor's lab. It looks so cool," he raved, looking childish for a 16 year-old Kahuna. "And it looks better than our phones, here! I mean, Moon's RotomDex could double as a phone, too, but since we don't have RotomDexes, we're sticking to phones."

"Oooh, my RotomDex got excited at the mention of it!" someone behind them said. Lillie was the first to turn around, followed by Hau and Touko. Moon greeted them with bags of malasadas, the oil getting to the paper bag. "I got you guys malasadas when I dropped by Malie."

"Thank you," Touko said. Moon's eyes widened, remembering that the Unovan Champion would be here with them. She bowed, stuttering apologies. "No! It's alright. My presence would be overpowered by your friends', of course."

"I'm so sorry, oh Arceus, I actually forgot that you were doing your island challenge," Moon said, her words threatening to jumble up like the first time they met. "I don't think I got enough—you can get my share of malasadas!" she offered. "So—so, um...how was Melemele? Can I see your Pokemon?"

"Sure."

Two Pokemon came out of their Balls, both standing proudly. A Pichu and a Wingull were present, letting out cries of excitement. Moon squealed. "Oh! They're so cute. They must be super powerful, too, being trained by Miss Touko herself."

"She breezed through the trial and the Grand Trial!" Hau said with enthusiasm, proudly showing off the Pokemon and Touko. "I bet she'll sweep Akala's trials, too! Oh, won't you, cuddly Pichu?"

The Pichu squeaked before running off to Touko, hiding behind her leg. Touko laughed, picking up the Pichu. "Aww, Pepper! Hau is harmless, don't worry," she said, cooing to the small Pokemon. The Wingull beside Touko squawked, landing on Touko's shoulder.

Hau held both of his hands up, as if admitting defeat. "Your Pokemon don't seem to like me, Miss White," he said, pouting. "Anyway, let's get to Brooklet Hill, where you'll meet Lana! She's the captain for the Water-type trial. As for me, I'll get back to Melemele and see if there are any challengers."

He wished Touko a good luck before leaving for Melemele. Lillie turned to Touko and Moon. "I'll stay here. I heard that there was a new clothing shop that opened just a few weeks ago, and I don't really have a reason to visit Akala as often as I want to," she said, shaking her head. "You guys go on to Brooklet Hill, okay? Good luck on your trial, Miss White."

As soon as they passed by the Tide Song Hotel, though, Touko swore she almost saw a scientist she hasn't seen in years.

 _x_

"Route 4! I haven't gone here for a while," Moon said, playing with a PokeBall in her hand. "I might go on a catching spree, too. I've got a whole bunch of Quick and Ultra Balls."

"If you don't mind me asking, why?" Touko asked, her curiosity piqued. She heard of people breeding for trade fodder, but she didn't know if people caught to use the Pokemon as trading items. She hoped Moon wasn't either.

"Ah...you see, you're not the only one with a traveling friend," Moon said. "I had a friend, and he always liked children and Pokemon. We had plans of donating Pokemon to orphanages, so they wouldn't be lonely," she said, a blank stare in her eyes. "But he went missing, too. He left his RotomDex at his house, so we don't know how to reach him. The Dex didn't know where he went, too.

"His Pokemon were gone, and he didn't leave a note or anything. I haven't seen him ever since I became Champion, but I continued our plans of donating Pokemon to anyone who needs them. Of course, I don't get the extremely strong ones, but I don't like the idea of breeding, too. I make sure that the wild Pokemon I catch would want to be given away or if they want to be released. But getting babies from their mothers is just...sad. I don't know what I'd do if I were given a newly-hatched Pokemon that got separated from their parents.

"Oh," Moon gasped, the light coming back to her eyes. She gave Touko an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I rambled on. Are you here to catch Pokemon, too? In that case, have some Heal Balls," she said, getting a few of the pink balls from her bag. "You can immediately bond with your Pokemon after catching it, and the design is nice, too."

"Thank you, Moon," Touko said, taking the balls from the younger girl. "Hey, it was a fine story. I think that wherever he might be, he's proud of you. Also, you can call me Touko."

"Ah, thanks, Touko."

The two separated for a while, and after a few encounters with Yungoose and Grubbin, Touko ran into a pale Eevee, who looked too pale to be healthy until it shone in the light, indicating that it was a shiny. She gasped, sending out her Pichu silently. "Okay, I'm sorry, Eevee, but...Pepper, use Thunder Wave."

Her Pichu quietly paralyzed the Eevee, who seemed shocked to have been hit by an attack. Touko and Pichu was suddenly in its line of sight, and it let out a cry of frustration before running towards Pichu. "Oh, Pepper! Dodge, and tackle it! Not too much, don't make it faint!"

Her Pichu followed her commands, dodging the incoming Eevee and tackling it, pinning the Eevee to the ground. Touko threw a Heal Ball at the Eevee, and after three rolls, it clicked.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, feeling a bit sorry for the sudden attack on the shiny Eevee. She picked up the Heal Ball and sent out the Eevee, who was now growling. "I'm sorry, Eevee. Do you want to be released?"

As soon as she asked the pale Pokemon that, though, her Pichu stepped up and squeaked, communicating to the Eevee. The small Pokemon cocked its head, willing to listen to the small Pichu before it cried out, walking towards Touko with a renewed energy.

"Oh. I take it you want to be a part of our team now?" she asked. The Eevee pawed at her legs, and Touko picked it up. "I take it as a yes. Let's go train now, Eevee! Actually, Vee would suit you, wouldn't it?"

melemele island, a week after departure – n

a week after shiny encounter with touko

" _I feel like...Zekrom has been here,"_ Reshiram said as soon and N stepped out of the boat and onto the Marina. People were busy, crowding all over the place and rushing to greet or say their farewells to their loved ones. " _We need to get out of the crowd as well._ "

Getting out of the crowd was as hard as a Rattata getting out of a horde of Tauros. He embraced the fresh air of Hau'oli City, the place blinking red on his Xtransceiver's Map. "There are a total of four islands, and we are on Melemele," he sent out Zoroark, who looked at him expectantly. "Do you think Touko took the Island Challenge?"

" _Truthfully, I do not know,"_ Zoroark said. " _She may have started it, but maybe decided to end it sand take her search for this Touya seriously. Let us ask-"_

His Zoroark got interrupted by a loud man, who bumped into N. "Oh! I'm sorry, man. I didn't see where I was going, and—hey, what a powerful looking Zoroark!" he said, grinning. His eyes darted to N's. "I'm Hau! I'm the Kahuna around here. Say, would you mind having a Pokemon battle? Just a friendly one."

N crossed his arms. Well, it was rude of him to deny a batte, and he would make himself look bad in front of people. And the Kahuna seemed to be well-respected, too. "Alright. But please, help me after this battle."

Hau beamed. "Sure, dude!"

Hau sent out his Raichu first, which took on a form that N wasn't sure that he has seen before. He didn't miss the curious look on N's face, which he commented on. "It looks amazing, right? Alolan forms are different from the other regions, and that's why they look like that."

N nodded, putting himself into the battle now. "They look amazing, indeed," he muttered to himself before shouting a command for his Zoroark. "Zoroark! Use Night Slash on the Raichu!"

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt to stop the Zoroark!"

Zoroark got close to the Raichu, _fast_ , but even its speed couldn't match Raichu's. As soon as he got close enough to slash the yellow Pokemon, the Raichu sent a thunderbolt its way, stopping the Zoroark and letting it crash on the floor. It stood up again, but this time with yellow sparks floating around its body.

"Paralyzed!" N exclaimed, trying to think fast. He reached out for a berry and threw the red berry for Zoroark to feed on. Immediately, the sparks disappeared, and Hau clapped.

"Cheri berries! Raichu, use quick attack!"

"Counter with a Night Slash again!"

The Zoroark let the Raichu close in on it before it slashed at the body with glowing claws, hitting the Raichu with a super-effective attack. The Raichu fainted, forcing Hau to call it back. Immediately, he sent out a Crabominable. N didn't recognize it, but he heard a small voice.

" _Raichuuu! I will avenge you, don't worry, man!"_ the Pokemon said, crying out. Hau took notice of this and laughed.

"Looks like Crabominable is excited to battle your Zoroark. Use Close Combat!" Hau commanded, the Crabominable moving at the Zoroark with readied fists.

"Use Night Slash again!"

Zoroark waited for the Crabominable and lunged at it, pinning it to the ground with its claws. The Crabominable didn't seem fazed, though, but was able to throw off the Dark-type before hitting the Zoroark with Close Combat, making the Zoroark faint.

The rest of the battle went on, commands being shouted out and Pokemon being withdrawn until Hau emerged as the winner, barely winning the match with his Incineroar. "That was exhilarating!" he cheered, congratulating his own Pokemon. "You rock, guys!"

N could hear the faint voices of the weakened Pokemon, who sounded happy even after almost fainting. " _You rocked too, Hau!" "Master Hau, it was a pleasure to serve you!" "Are we going to get malasadas after this?"_

"Anyway," Hau continued. N snapped out of his trance and stopped listening to the Pokemon's chatters, focusing on the Kahuna before him. "What was it that you wanted me to help you with?"

The crowd dispersed, and N followed Hau to a malasada shop which had less customers than usual. The employees greeted Hau with excitement, and he greeted them with the same level of enthusiasm. The greenet observed this before speaking up. "Have you heard of a girl named Touko White?"

Hau perked up, excited to talk about the trainer that just sweeped his Grand Trial Pokemon a few days ago. "Oh, hell yeah! I even talked to her. She's so cool, even if she has a brand new team. She's a pretty strong trainer, but I guess it's because she's Champion," he paused. "Why are you asking?"

N almost choked on his malasada. Touko had been here days ago, and she'd been with the Kahuna. "She's doing the Island Challenge?" he asked, not knowing what to really ask Hau. He wanted to bombard him with questions like, "Is she okay?" or "Is she happy?" but he settled with the current question for now.

"Yeah! She seems to be enjoying it, too," Hau said. "Are you a friend of hers?"

"I hope so."

The two sat in silence, unsure of what to say until Hau spoke up. "Well, I could lead you to her. She took on Akala a week ago, but with her pace, she's probably on Ula'ula right now. Or doing Mallow's trial," he said. "Cheer up! You'll find her in no time. I'll even accompany you to Akala right now, if you like."

N brightened up. "That is quite alright. I have to see her as soon as I can," he paused. "I didn't tell you my name yet. I'm N."

"N? Like, just N?"

"The name's longer, but I prefer to be called N," he explained. "It's Natural Harmonia Gropius, by the way."

"That's a mouthful," Hau said, immediately slapping his mouth. "I'm sorry! That was so rude." N laughed, waving Hau off.

"Indeed, it is. It's the truth, anyway," N said. The two were once again enveloped in silence before Hau's phone rang, Moon's name shining on the screen. Once Hau accepted it, though, a different face greeted him.

"Gladion! You're back!"

* * *

 **Author: Hello! Chapter 2 is up! I bet 3 is going to take a long time, since there's school and all. I added something mid-way: timeline is going to show for both's situation. I hope that makes things easier.**

 **Please review!**


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